A Truce Of Moons
by Ysabet
Summary: A tale from early in Ushio & Tora's partnership, concerning the likenesses of monsters and men..... and what they like to do at parties. ***All three chapters are now out!***
1. Default Chapter

Hi there; here we go with another Ushio & Tora story. This one takes place just after the 'Mysterious Sea' episodes, and Ushio has had the Spear for about two months. He and Tora still don't trust each other altogether; Tora still considers Ushio a form of snackfood now and then. Ushio's pretty much a bratty 15-year-old and shows it, too. Enjoy! Please review..... I'll buy you a car (it'll be a hotwheels, I'm afraid...) Annnnnd now, for your viewing pleasure, the Holy Disclaimer: I don't own U & T (though I did make up the kitsune-types herein), I wish I did, I'm so broke I squeak so don't sue me, and may their creator Kazuhiro Fujita live a long and prosperous life! Also, this story is given in thanks to Suzanna Gertruda, who was kind enough to draw some truely gorgeous fanart for me from my "Jaws" story. Many Thanks, Suzanna! On with the show!  
  
  
A Truce Of Moons  
By Ysabet  
  
"Explain to me" said the temple boy to the monster, "just exactly *what* it is we're going to, just one more time. I still don't get it."  
  
And the monster hissed in exasperation at the temple boy and growled: "Idiot."  
  
They were soaring silently above a darkened landscape in the earliest moments of evening, still too light for stars but too late for sunlight. Below them their shadow ghosted across the broken field of treetops, appearing and disappearing with their flight.  
  
Ushio drew a long, clean breath of the evening; it was cooler here than it was at home, and the pine forests below washed everything with a wild, green scent. Nice; here and there he could see flashes between the trees as the cloudless sky reflected in a broad stream running down from the mountains. That was their road of sorts; they followed the stream, flying along above it as though tied to a float drifting in its course.  
  
He smiled to himself a little; if anyone had told him two months earlier that he'd be riding through the sky on the back of a monster he would've been looking nervously around for the men in white coats with butterfly nets. But here he was..... He gripped the Kemono No Yari a little tighter, the Spear's ragged silk streamers curling and fluttering around his forearm like stroking hands; if anyone had told him two months ago that he'd be dealing with a mythological artifact that took him over and turned him into something else, he would've wondered just what they were smoking.....  
  
Tora was ignoring his question; go figure. Beneath him Ushio could feel the great muscles gather and shift as they began to drop slightly downwards, angling in flight towards a dip in the treetops. Some sort of valley or clearing? Too dark to tell, really. The bakemono had been pretty noncommunicative for the last couple of hours, though he'd been a lot... easier... to deal with lately. That last battle they had fought together--- it had made a few changes between them, somehow. Ushio sighed; fifteen years of life hadn't really prepared him to be the kind of person that the Spear seemed to want him to be, but he was getting there; the Spear was teaching him how to fight, how to move, when to kill..... He shifted uncomfortably; the thought of killing another living thing was something he didn't really want to think about too hard. At least Tora seemed to be settling down to a certain extent; Ushio was still the Spearbearer, Tora was still the monster, but..... maybe they could manage not to mangle each other for a while.  
  
Never mind that now, though; they were dropping, curving gently towards a streambank where the water flashed silver as Tora's eyes between some really *huge* trees, like the ones you'd find at shrines. Ushio jumped a little as something shot past them in the air--- what the hell was that? Not too big, really quick: a bat? Insomniac bird? They were landing before he could tell, and he slid off carefully as the bakemono's claws sank into the blanket of dead leaves with only a faint crunch (it still amazed him how *quietly* Tora could move! Alarmed him a bit, too). His own landing was a bit noisier; the ancient bakemono snorted in annoyance and began to pick his way along the streambed, moving downstream.  
  
"Hey, monster. One more time--- *What* kind of party is this? And why the hell did we come, anyway?" Ushio used the Spear to steady himself as he hopped from boulder to boulder.  
  
Tora sighed exaggeratedly to himself, silver eyes turned up to the heavens. Stupid humans. In the darkness before moonrise he was a shadow, his vivid coloring muted to shades of charcoal and slate. "NOT a party, Brat ----- this is the moon-truce, and we're here because you pulled that bastard Spear out and released me." The monster's eyes flashed briefly and a curve of sharp teeth reflected the first faint starlight. "Bakemonotachi hold territories, and I want to know who holds what. Also, when we've been..... away..... for a while, we come to the moon-truce to show that we are back and to keep other bakemonotachi from taking our territories. Not that they could..... But this is the sort of thing that a bakemono does. Now shut up." He moved a little further along, head up, sniffing at the wind.  
  
Ushio ignored the 'shut up' part as a matter of course. "So why do *I* have to be here? I'm no bakemono...." he stepped across a tiny streamlet that had wandered away from its parent and stopped for a second to tug at his shirt. Tora had advised him to 'try to look impressive', so he had taken the time to put on a dark grey high-collared shirt and black pants--- but the sneakers stayed; at least they were black, too. In his own opinion he looked pretty good.....  
  
He raised his head and began to take a step further--- and found himself less than a foot from Tora's shadowy face; the bakemono had turned around and was staring him down, teeth slightly bared in annoyance. "Pay ATTENTION, Whelp!!" he hissed, keeping his voice low. Ushio started back a step, but then held his ground; he flushed at having shown any signs of intimidation.  
  
Tora glared at him, tail twitching. "YOU are here because of *that*-----" and the bakemono poked a single large talon towards the Spear, which hummed faintly in response. "You are in *my* territory, and that bastard Thing concerns all bakemonotachi whether we hate humans or like them. I care nothing for the others, but you are a matter we must deal with! In a way, you *are* bakemono, or something like-----"  
  
Still flushing, Ushio felt a wave of anger and shock sweep through him; he brought the Spear's point up and around between them, brandishing it before Tora's face. The bakemono flinched back a little. "I-am-NOT-a-monster!!" he snapped, wishing he felt a little more certain of just that fact. Tora faced him down, arms folded.  
  
"You are the Spearbearer; that's enough for those who will be here tonight. To us, you ARE a monster, idiot! And that is a good thing right now." He laughed softly, silver eyes slitted. "You'll be among monsters tonight, won't you? So you'd better get on with it." And the bakemono pointed again at the Spear.  
  
"Get on with what?" Ushio was still breathing a little hard. "What are you talking about, get on with what?"  
  
The monster raised his eyes to the heavens again. "I *told* you: Look impressive! Change yourself, stupid! Humans will NOT be welcome here--- you'll be eaten if you show up human! So change."  
  
Oh. Ushio looked down at the Kemono No Yari; he was still a little uncertain about this. Changing in the heat of battle was one thing, but doing it deliberately.....? But Tora had a point. So...... He concentrated.  
  
It was easier when he was angry or afraid; then it was a simple thing, a response to stimuli. But he could do this..... Ushio felt the first heat of power spreading from the Spear through his body, flowing like blood through his veins; it hurt, but it was bearable, easier every time: A burning in his bones, a rush like static rippling across his skin, every cell turned for one timeless moment fluid and white-hot like metal in a forge (and there were images in his mind too, images that he could never quite keep: flames/ a man's bitter face/ a hammer striking/ a woman leaping, calm face reflected in molten metal below) and above it all the image of the other shape approaching, moving forward, blending, melding, becoming real-----  
  
----- and it was done, and he ran a shaking hand back through the long, long hair and across his face; breathless, Ushio glanced down at the streamlet below. Two lambent cateyes reflected back from the darkness, flashing cobalt-blue, bottle-green, amber-gold; they glimmered as brilliantly as Tora's own. He flexed his hands (the thickened, sharper nails always felt so weird) and glanced up at the watching bakemono. "Satisfied?"  
  
Tora simply shrugged, turned around and walked on. They headed downstream towards the clearing, eyes shining in the shadows.  
*************************************  
  
The landscape became rockier as the trees thinned out and the stream ducked back underground; there were lights ahead, the dancing lights of bonfires and torches (and something else that looked for all the world like hanging balls of foxfire, burning wanly blue); Ushio could see silhouettes moving against the illuminations..... really *oddly* shaped silhouettes, come to that. His head whipped up as something went by overhead--- it looked like..... No, that couldn't be right. He was seeing things, obviously; bats didn't come that big..... and then he watched as two more flapped past, their wingspans longer than his body. That wasn't really the strange part; that was the silver jewelry they were wearing, and possibly the fact that their wings looked to be patterned in scarlet and blue. One looked down as it flew past; its eyes widened at the sight of the Spear and it let out a decidedly un-batlike yelp, speeding up and shooting on into the clearing.  
  
Ushio hunched his shoulders; "OK" he said softly to himself; this looked to be an.... interesting evening.  
  
As they entered the clearing he found himself gripping the Kemono No Yari tighter than ever; there were others arriving too--- from the air, or walking, or crawling, or moving like mist..... He swallowed; *Oh, man.....*  
  
The Spear hummed faintly in his sweating grip; he gulped again and kept walking, trying not to stare too long at one face or form. But for crying out loud-----!  
  
There to his right, that many-legged thing--- was that a kumo, one of the giant spiders out of those old folk tales? It sure looked like it; and walking beside it in conversation was, well, it kind of looked like a tanuki but it was as large as a man and was fairly well dressed (the Hawaiian shirt was a little garish, sure, but...). Beyond them stood a group of perfectly ordinary-looking businessmen, suits and ties and all; you'd think they were normal except for the pointed ears and glowing eyes..... And what about those green horned-and-fanged things over by the rocks? Oni, straight from an old ricepaper drawing of Hell (except that Ushio rather numbly noticed that one was wearing a 'Shogun Knife' t-shirt). *Oh, man.....*  
  
He stumbled a little as something large and looming with an enormous nose knuckled past, shambling in a cloud of its own reek; a bit ahead Tora glanced back, nose wrinkling. Quaking inside, Ushio hurried up to join the bakemono, sweating as he passed something black and shiny with too many limbs and eyes. It was watching him, too. Of course, it looked like it was watching everybody. *Oh, MAN.....!*  
  
Just this once, Tora looked *really* reassuring. Just this once. At least he was familiar..... What was it the Westerners said? 'Better the devil you know than the devil you don't'..... Still, Ushio would bet money that whoever made up the saying never meant it to be taken QUITE that literally.  
  
The bakemono had paused to look around the clearing; there were perhaps forty or fifty beings standing, sitting, floating or crouching nearby as yet, ranging from diaphanous little flying things as small as the temple boy's hand to something leaning rather nonchalantly against a boulder that would dwarf a two-story building. The Spearbearer had to stop and stare for a moment; it--- he--- looked like nothing more than an oversized and rather scraggly European human, complete with jeans, engineer's boots and single gold earring. But... he stood about 30 feet tall and was proportionally broad..... Ow. The giant slouched there, hands in pockets, wearing what looked for all the world like a baseball cap pulled down over his broad forehead; he seemed to be scanning the new arrivals as they came in, and his gaze checked for a moment as it passed over Tora and then Ushio. For a second or two the giant stared back, enormous face impassive; then, grinning just a little, he looked away. The Spearbearer shrugged to himself and moved a little closer to Tora.  
  
They were moving well into the clearing now, and he noticed something a little odd (and 'odd' in *this* crowd was something that had to *really* stand out!): frightened glances, apprehensive looks, muttered comments in low voices from here and there in the crowd. Directed at Tora? Directed at the Spear? Or the Spearbearer? He couldn't tell..... Ushio straightened a little, bringing the Kemono No Yari to rest on his shoulder. It wasn't that he wanted to frighten anybody or anything, but it was oddly reassuring to know that he wasn't the only creature here that was a little unnerved.  
  
He heard a grunt of approval from beside him; the bakemono was watching him, arms crossed, a slight sharp-toothed smile on his striped face. Backlit by the flickering fire he looked like something dredged up from the deepest of nightmares, not at all reassuring..... But he *was* familiar....  
  
Oh well; 'Better the devil you know.....'  
  
The Spearbearer drew a deep breath and let it out. "So. Tora--- Why is this called the 'moon-truce'? You never said" he asked, trying to sound casual. The monster sat back a little, running his claws through his burnt-orange mane. "Ah. It's held each year on the full-moon-night of the month with the longest day, when the Sun is strongest." He shrugged, hair drifting back into his eyes. "We do not care overmuch for rules, but we agree on a few for this night--- no one may kill any here..... not even you, Spearbearer. Remember that! No killing here, no matter what is said or done. Kill, and we both die." Tora growled a little to emphasize his words, and Ushio found himself baring his own sharp teeth in reply (it bothered him a little to realize what a natural gesture that was for his new form; it was altogether too easy to act like a beast. Like Tora.)  
  
Taking his silence as agreement, the bakemono looked around the clearing for a moment. "..... Those who will speak will begin at moonrise; we have a while as yet. When we are to speak, I will find you; until then, remember: No killing!" and he turned away, moving silently off into the growing crowd.  
  
Ushio blinked; why did Tora insist on treating him half the time like a weak little child and the other half like a killer?!? It just didn't make any sense..... Or was he missing something? Huh. *Oh well.....* He pushed his long hair back (it never stayed) and, shouldering the Kemono No Yari, began to work his way slowly towards the rocks on the other side of the clearing. He had perhaps an hour before moonrise, and there was a *lot* to see.  
*************************************  
  
The sheer variety of creatures around him kept Ushio enthralled for quite a while as he slowly made his way through the firelit crowd; were these all..... people? They hopped, flew, crawled and drifted; they shouted, spoke quietly, sang and hissed, and he suspected that at least once he had trod on one of them (he hoped it didn't mind). Strange things with too many teeth, delicate willowy tree-women, tiny fluttering things with long talons and rainbow plumage, slinking wolf-youkai in antique armor..... And they paid him very little attention (save for the occasional startled or apprehensive glance, first at the Spear, then at him); apparently he was just another bakemono in their eyes.  
  
This bothered him a bit until he thought about what they were seeing; really, it was just as well.  
  
So many types of beings, though, and none of them human! How the hell did they live in the same world that he had grown up in without being noticed?!? Of course, there were quite a few that looked pretty normal; Ushio saw several men and women (always moving in groups of three, for some reason) that he would've passed on the street without a second glance. How many times had he done just that? How many times had the person next to him in line at the bus stop been a youkai? Interesting thought. Moving slowly, he watched as a middle-aged woman passed him by, two chattering children in tow; save for the fact that all three were as translucent as glass, she could've been any housewife on the way to market. One of the children was even wearing a Pokemon backpack..... The Spearbearer shook his head and moved on.  
  
As he sank down bemused on a low boulder at the side of the clearing, a voice beside him said "Oh, Yukio, did you get me any..... Oh!" Startled, Ushio turned to find himself staring into the face of an animal.  
  
Well, sort of. If animals dressed in traditional kimonos and wore their dark red hair up in intricate arrangements. The fact that the creature was drinking from a can of soda was also a consideration..... It--- she--- looked like a fox. A *real* fox, with amber eyes and sharp, vulpine teeth in a russet-and-white furred face, delicate ears pricked forward.  
  
She also looked a little panicky and very much like she wanted to bolt. Ushio quickly stumbled to his feet and bowed; "Ummm, I beg your pardon--- was this boulder taken?"  
  
*God,* he thought; *What a stupid thing to say!* His ears burned in embarrassment.  
  
But the fox-creature looked a little less anxious, inclining her head with a hesitant smile (really, she looked a LOT like an anime character when you thought about it.....) "Uh, no--- I thought you were my brother; he went to get me another soda. Please, sit down; really, it's OK." A bit nervously the Spearbearer sank back down onto the boulder even as the foxgirl sat on another a few feet away. "They've got sodas here?" Ushio blinked; that wasn't what he would've expected monsters to drink..... But the foxgirl smiled again shyly and passed him up a can from where it had been resting beside her seat. "Please take it--- my brother Yukio got me the wrong one earlier. I think one of the city-youkai provided them this year...... Is this your first moon-truce?"  
  
Ushio sighed; it was nice talking to something that didn't look like it was going to bite his head off. "Thanks very much. Um, yeah. First time. Is it that obvious?" he asked, trying not to sound too chagrined. The can hissed as he popped it open; drinking gratefully, he eyed the creature beside him with curiosity (she was really very pretty, fur and all; and he didn't think she was any older than he was. What a strange idea.)  
  
She looked down at her soda, still smiling a little with small, sharp teeth. "Well, yeah; you seem a bit nervous. This is my third moon-truce, but I remember how strange it all looked the first time I came with my family." The foxgirl settled back on her stone, one blackfurred hand tugging her sash straight. "I'm Rikone; you are-----?"  
  
"Ummmm, I'm Ushio. Pleased to meet you." He half-bowed again, feeling a little foolish. Things were looking up.  
*************************************  
  
They talked for a while, the kitsune and the Spearbearer, sitting there in the flickering firelight as the crowd of assorted beings grew. Ushio found that he had more in common with the young foxgirl than he would ever have thought possible; they were deep in a discussion of the current j-pop groups when her two brothers arrived, bearing armfuls of soda cans and less identifiable snacks (the temple boy declined politely when offered something that he hoped wasn't the fried mouse that it looked very much to be). The two other kitsune seemed nice enough; both (their names were Yukio and Hayaiko) seemed about the same age as their sister, and she casually mentioned that they were from the same 'litter'..... They joined in the conversation with alacrity and talked of other things as well: movies, school and classmates (apparently kitsune could take on human forms, making it an easy thing to blend in), all of the sort of things that any teenager would find interesting. It was strange, thought Ushio, how quickly you could forget that these weren't just humans--- he recalled his dad talking about kitsune. Fox-spirits, usually benign, sometimes tricksters but most often neutral; there was a shrine to one out in Atsugi.  
  
Hayaiko and Yukio hopped up when they spotted a friend waving at them across the clearing; they headed off in that direction, white-tipped tails trailing behind. Ushio sipped at his second soda of the evening and began to wonder what bakemono did when they needed a bathroom (he'd speculated about this in the past in regards to Tora, but even the most refined tortures wouldn't be enough to make him ask). He watched the figures around the central bonfire; they were beginning to draw back and find seats, perches or simply clear areas to drift in. A few feet away a group of somethings with shaggy brown fur and monkey-like faces were settling down; one of the smallest ones dropped a red leather ball which rolled to the Spearbearer's feet. He smiled at the furry toddler and nudged the toy back with the tip of the Spear, which he had resting as inconspicuously as possible point-down in the crook of one arm. The furry child caught the ball and grinned back at him with the friendliness of all youngsters too small too small to have learned wariness; its mother (father? Who could tell?) caught him up, giving Ushio an apologetic grimace..... Then it caught sight of the Spear, and its dark green eyes widened for a moment. Looking thoughtful, the creature nudged the one beside it and they both stared at the Spearbearer and his weapon with frankly curious gazes. Ushio sighed and looked aside, meeting the equally curious amber eyes of the young foxgirl beside him; she seemed to have something on her mind.  
  
Taking a sip of her soda, Rikone said hesitantly "We--- my brothers and parents and I---" and she gestured vaguely in the direction her littermates had gone "--- we're kitsune, I guess that's obvious. But if I can be a little rude..... What are you?"  
  
Oh. Good question; this was going to be tricky. Ushio sighed. "Well," he said somewhat awkwardly, "it's kind of hard to explain. I--- guess I'm sort of one of a kind." He looked down at his hands, thinking of what the foxgirl was seeing: long, long black hair, sharp teeth, shining catlike eyes, sharpnailed hands..... Of course, he was talking to someone who might not find that sort of thing frightening at all. Look at the creatures around them, for instance..... Beside him she said softly "I, ah, didn't mean to be rude; it's just that I've never seen anything at the moon-truce like you before. You *almost* look and smell like a human, but not quite; please forgive me if I'm intruding, but you know kitsune--- we're always curious....." Ushio looked up to meet her inquiring golden eyes and smiled a little weakly. "It's not that, and you're not being rude; I just don't really know how to explain."  
  
He thought for a moment, twisting a lock of his long hair in his fingers. "Ummmm, have you ever heard of the Kemono No Yari?" The Spearbearer tensed slightly as he awaited her answer. He could hear the silk of her kimono rustle as she sipped her soda, her long fluffy foxtail twitching by her blackfurred ankles. "Well, sure," said Rikone slowly; "We all have; that's one of the big issues tonight, from what I heard my parents talking about. Of course, kitsune don't take sides in that sort of thing; we're always neutral....." The tip of her tail flicked back and forth, white end-hairs catching the firelight.  
  
He relaxed a little. "I'm glad to hear that....." and he brought the Spear around from where he had it leaning point-down, placing it along the ground with the blade resting in his lap. The ragged red silk streamers fluttered slightly in the cool evening breeze.  
  
For a moment there was silence. Ushio looked down at the Spear, smoothing the wood of the haft with his hands; for some reason that always comforted him. He looked up at the kitsune; she was sitting bolt upright, staring down at the Spear with wide, wide eyes, ears slightly flattened. Very slowly Rikone lifted her gaze to his face--- dropped it back down to the Spear--- then looked back up at him. "You--- are the Bearer?" Her voice was a tiny thing, a mouse's voice.  
  
"Yeah.....?" Ushio shifted uncomfortably under the foxgirl's scrutiny.  
  
Rikone's eyes were fixed on his and her teeth were showing a little; the thought passed through Ushio's mind that, if he hadn't gotten so used to Tora's expressions, he would've found the kitsune a very intimidating sight just now. But..... He smiled as reassuringly as possible; "Ummm, it's OK--- I'm nothing you need to worry about, you know; you said so yourself: Kitsune don't take sides concerning the Spear, right?"  
  
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "That's right..... Is that *really* the Kemono No Yari?" The foxgirl stared in fascination at the Spear; Ushio sighed in relief as she relaxed. "Yeah. I've only been the Bearer for a little while now--- it's kind of hard to get used to." Rikone hesitated, then shyly asked ".....Can I..... touch it, do you think? I mean, will it mind?"  
  
A little unsure, Ushio looked down at the Spear; he carefully placed both hands the haft just below the point, holding it firmly. "Go ahead; I think it's OK." And the kitsune reached one finger out to delicately draw a single translucent claw down the haft; beneath her touch the Kemono No Yari sang faintly but made no protest. She ran one dark hand across the silver spearhead and drew in a sharp breath; ".....It's warm; it feels alive....." Rikone whispered, pulling back.  
  
Ushio smiled wryly, smoothing the Spear's streamers between his fingers. "As far as I can tell, it *is* alive; it tells me things sometimes, teaches me how to fight, how to kill....." There was an uncomfortable silence; he had forgotten what he was talking to for a bit there. A soft-furred touch on his arm made the Spearbearer look up; the foxgirl smiled faintly at him, a little amused. "Ushio--- my family and I are not exactly the kind of bakemonotachi you'd usually be hunting, if that's what you're worried about; kitsune are neutral, remember? And besides....." she looked off towards the central bonfire; ".....this *is* the moon-truce; no killing is allowed tonight." Rikone started to say something else, then stopped and gestured silently towards the flames.  
  
Ushio looked up too. A quiet was settling over the clearing and the pop and crackle of the fire was clearly audible over the soft whispers and conversation around him. Moonrise..... Yeah, there was the moon, peeking just above the trees to the south; he settled back on his stone, one hand caressing the haft of the Spear for reassurance.  
  
Things were about to get interesting.....  
**************************************************************************************************************  
  
End of Chapter 1  
  



	2. A Truce of Moons (Chapter 2)

Well, this fic has definitely become my "gift-fanfic"! This chapter is given by me as a gift to my good friend Jandoc of Hawaii, who has kept me happily supplied with Ushio & Tora manga (thus preventing me dying of frustration). Huge Thanks! Now, settle back with your popcorn and watch..... and please, don't forget to review! =^_^=  
  
A Truce of Moons  
Chapter 2  
By Ysabet  
  
  
When seen from above, a forest is a very, very dark place; there is nothing to give light back save for the flow of water when it reflects the stars or the moon. It's peaceful; nothing but the sighing of wind through branches, the rasp of twig against twig, the sleepy twitter of birds nesting below......  
  
Except for this night.  
  
No; if one listened, one could hear voices; soft speech, hisses, rumbling roars, growls and whines and barks..... The forest was alive with sound tonight. And then there were the lights.....  
  
Tora drifted on the wind high above it all, his mane floating around him like the tendrils of some sea-creature. He stretched once in mid-air, claws slipping silently from their sheaths and sliding back as muscle and tendon tightened and relaxed; above him the stars shown down silently.  
  
He could see the lights of the moon-truce in the clearing nearby; the silhouetes of the other creatures below crossed against the flames and wisp-lights, drawing back and settling in their places among the rocks. The bothersome mutter of conversation was finally fading down to a more bearable whisper.  
  
*Talk, talk, talk! Hells above and below, since when have bakemonotachi become so damned talkative? Natter, natter, natter.....* Tora had finally fled to the sky above when he had heard 'Nagatobimaru-dono? I thought you were dead!' for what seemed like the hundreth-damned-time from the hundreth-damned-entity. At first the attention had been amusing; but that had *long* since worn off. He growled softly to himself. *Hhhhrrrrrr.* Perhaps it was simply that he was unused as yet to being around others, except for the Ushio-Brat..... It had been a long, long time since he had attended a moon-truce, after all.   
  
And speaking of the Ushio-Brat, where was he, anyway? The bakemono frowned at the clearing below, beginning to drift silently downwards..... *Ah, there; sitting beside----- heh.* The monster grinned a little; so the Brat had found a pretty young kitsune, had he? *A nice piece of fur, too.* Well and good, but he had best be careful----- kitsune families tended to be chary of their whelps, and they bit HARD when protecting their daughters. The bakemono considered the amusing prospect of an anxious papa chasing the Spearbearer across the countryside, teeth nipping at Ushio's tender parts; he chuckled in appreciation and continued his downward descent, glancing over his shoulder at the growing light on the horizon. Moonrise; time for things to really begin.......  
**************************************  
  
If you've seen one official, you've seen them all. Ushio watched, chin on hand, as what could only be the Person-In-Charge-of-This-Event stood before the central bonfire. Now *this* was an interesting bakemono..... Scarlet, hairless skin reflected the firelight, as did the gleaming, metallic eyes; well, the two on its face did, anyway. So did the ones on the back of its hands, on its temples, on the back of its head..... The rest of its body was hidden by the formal magistrate's robes it wore; Ushio wondered just how many eyes it had and where they were located (and if it made it difficult to sit down). Hmph; not very frightening, though----- or was he just getting jaded? He personally thought that the most fearful bakemono here was the huge, gray worm-like thing across the clearing, the one with all the mouths and eyes and cockroach-mandibles all over it----- eeewww. The temple boy had never really liked bugs and this did nothing to make him change his mind. It looked a bit clumsy, though, and unless it could fly he suspected that he could take it down pretty easily-----  
  
----- Ushio stopped that train of thought before it could go any further, flushing a little angrily at his own lack of control. *No fighting, idiot!* he thought, mentally calling himself several uncomplimentary names. It really was *too* easy to slip back into the kinds of thought-patterns that he had while fighting..... It had to be the shape he was wearing. He wasn't really *like* this----- not while he was human----- was he? Maybe Tora was right to treat him like he had: half an untrained boy, half a killer. Something to think about, wasn't it?  
  
Later. He leaned over towards the kitsune beside him and whispered "So who goes first?"  
  
Rikone shrugged her silk-clad shoulders; the foxgirl was scanning the crowd with sharp amber eyes, obviously looking for something or someone specific..... "Usually they start by letting the personage whose territory this is speak first; then it's sort of a free-for-all....." she answered absently. The kitsune stiffened a little, slipping her hands into her sleeves for reassurance. "There they are--- " she muttered; her ears flattened slightly. "Who?" asked Ushio, a little concerned at Rikone's reaction; what, some evil bakemono? An enemy for him to fight? What?  
  
"My parents."  
  
Oh. "Umm, where?"  
  
Rikone sighed deeply and pointed with her hand still hidden in her sleeve towards a small group of creatures a little ways down the clearing..... Ushio frowned and focused, not an easy task in the flickering firelight: *Let's see..... Definitely not the skeleton in the houshi's robes, or the samurai-looking thing with the extra arms; nor the black jello-blob with three faces (sort of), or the tall woman in the business suit with the smoking eyes.... Oh!*  
  
The Spearbearer considered for a moment; then he turned back to the foxgirl and tried to be tactful. "..... I can, ah, see the resemblance, I guess..... But you're--- taller."  
  
The kitsune rolled her eyes (which looked particularly odd in an animalistic face) and snorted dramatically. "You know, I WISH they'd at least come on two feet! They make my brothers and I carry everything, too....." She scowled at the two dignified foxes sitting with their tails neatly wrapped around their bodies, white tips resting on paws. The larger of the two (Rikone's father?) was definitely staring back; his gaze had a certain *look* to it, a look that said 'mess-with-my-daughter-and-I'll-rip-you-apart'. Ushio swallowed and tried to appear both harmless and dependable at the same time (not an easy task for anyone, let alone a teenager.....) Beside him, Rikone continued: "It's *so* old-fashioned to show up like that, too! It makes us look like ignorant country types, like we've been living in some pokey old cave for the last few centuries..... My brothers hate it too, but Mom and Dad say that they like to 'keep up appearances and maintain traditions'....." She rolled her eyes again, black nose twitching in distaste.  
  
Ushio nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, I know what you mean. My dad wears normal clothes at home mostly, but if he has to go to anything public, on go the robes..... All the other guy's fathers are wearing things with 'Nike' emblems on them, but mine looks like he stepped out of a history book." He shook his head.  
  
WHOOSH!!! The two jumped as the flames in the center of the clearing suddenly shot heavenwards; the Person-In-Charge type clapped his hands twice and began to speak in a peculiarly double-toned voice:  
  
"Be welcome all here to this, the moon-truce. I stand as your host this night, and I remind all present of the one rule: That none--- none!--- may kill any here until after dawn. What is done then is your own affair." The personage stared out over the crowd (from several directions at once, actually), looking for signs of dissent; then he rubbed his palms together in apparent satisfaction.  
  
"I will begin by speaking regarding the recent influx of newcomers in this my territory......" blah, blah, blah......  
  
Ushio winced; this was like listening when government officials came to speak at his school! Boring, boring, boring..... Damn, weren't these supposed to be monsters?!? Shouldn't this be even a *little* interesting? He listened again:  
  
"..... and, as last year's ratio of flesheaters was lower than those of the previous years, the herds in the southern sector should suffice for their needs; however, if the ratio should increase via adoption, migration or transformation, additional herd animals will be bargained for from the honorable Tsuinji-dono's lands....."  
  
Boring. Very boring (though later he would wonder uneasily about the 'herds' mentioned). Ushio could see creatures of all kinds settling back around the clearing, clearly uninterested in the speech being given. Across the clearing the giant tugged his baseball cap down over his eyes. The personage droned on:  
  
"...... but considering the areas being settled in the west by waterbeings, bargaining can continue in regards to the needs of the present population with an emphasis on noncontact with the native human settlements. Demographics show that....." Aaaack. Boring, boring, boring. Beside him Rikone muttered something under her breath about 'self-important geekoids' and closed her eyes in apparent pain. A sound caught the Spearbearer's ear: he couldn't really be hearing that, could he? He listened:  
  
"......beep beep, zing! Doot-doo-doo-doot-doooo...." the Gameboy sang softly somewhere behind him.....  
  
The Spearbearer leaned once again on his hand with a sigh.  
**************************************  
  
A bored bakemono is a bad thing. They look for things to do..... things like: demolishing houses, eating the local cattle, invading dreams, blowing up car-tires and causing mysterious flats..... Whatever looks amusing at the time. Or they just go to sleep, leaning against one another's shoulders or the equivalent thereof.  
  
Tora was bored. Bored, bored, bored. The speaker with the red skin and all the eyes was *finally* finishing, much to his relief..... And then the next one (something with NO apparent eyes, or mouth, but many tentacles and a sweet, flutelike voice) began, and it was as mind-deadeningly boring as the first! Obsequious and sugar-sweet, the creature lisped....."And I am certain, O Beings, that you will recall an incident which occurred in the most honorable and fearful Ansen-Taka-dono's lands sixty years ago, which border upon my own domain, in which....." Hhhrrrrrrrrrrrrrrhhhhrrrrrr. Boring, boring, boring.  
  
He looked down from where he sat atop a pinnacle of rock; the Spearbearer was sitting below, chin on hand and long hair trailing over his face, apparently asleep. Idiot; asleep among monsters, like a babe in a torture chamber. Beside him that little kitsune-fluff had leaned back against the stones behind her and was also apparently asleep. Hmmmmmm..... there was enough room beside her.....  
  
Tora stepped off the spire of stone like someone stepping into water, floating soundlessly down to settle on the sand and stones beside the kitsune. Around him, creatures of various types carefully drew back, making room for the large, fearful bakemono. As Tora settled down, chin on hand, he preened a little; it was good to be recognized and feared again.  
  
On the other hand, neither the kitsune nor the Spearbearer had woken up as yet..... Ah. The little fox-spirit's eyes blinked, closed, then opened again, focusing blearily on the enormous striped face that had turned to watch her..... She took in the silver eyes, the teeth, the claws-----  
  
Across the clearing two foxes froze, their unblinking eyes fixed on the ancient and terrible bakemono beside their daughter.  
  
Ushio stirred; his back was getting stiff in his hunched-over position. *Oh, Great; another damned boring speaker.* This one was droning on about migration routes and something called 'whelping rights'. He didn't want to know. He turned his head to say something to Rikone-----  
  
----- who was sitting with a distinct deer-in-the-headlights look on her face, staring at Tora. Oh, right. "Hey, Tora-----" and the bakemono lifted a lip, exposing more teeth; "----- Um, I mean Nagatobimaru-dono, This is Rikone; Rikone, this is Lord Nagatobimaru....." (Ushio concentrated and recited:) "..... the 'holder of the territory in which I dwell.'" Tora gave him the briefest of nods; he had coached the Spearbearer on how he was to address the bakemono..... and that, just this once, Tora was to be called by his old name: Nagatobimaru, title and all. How formal.  
  
He had also stated (with much growling and muttered cursewords) that Ushio was to call himself 'Ushio-dono'; Lord Ushio. How..... archaic.  
  
But Rikone was still sitting there, staring; she hadn't moved a muscle. He tapped her gently on the shoulder and she started, turning white-rimmed eyes back to him. "Hey--- it's OK, he won't eat you. Remember?" (Ushio hoped not, anyway); "It's the moon-truce, right?"  
  
She relaxed a little, nodding. Drawing a shaky breath the kitsune turned back towards Tora and bowed deeply, hands hidden in her sleeves. "Your pardon, Nagatobimaru-dono----- I, I am honored to meet you." And she kept her eyes lowered, tail tucked behind her ankles.  
  
Tora blinked sleepily, his shining eyes mere slits of silver in his firelit face. "Well enough, little kitsune." He cocked his head to one side, looking at her profile. "Let me see......." and he touched a design woven into her kimono with one talon; ".....You are of the Hisuike line, are you not?" Puzzled, Ushio glanced down at Rikone's sleeve; the medallions woven into the cloth looked a bit like traditional Japanese clan-symbols, the 'mon' of heraldry. "Yes, Nagatobimaru-dono; I have that honor." The kitsune was obviously still a little nervous, but she raised her gaze to meet Tora's. The orange bakemono grinned a little and reached across to poke Ushio in the shoulder; "Better be careful, Spearbearer; you've been flirting with a jade fox!" He laughed wickedly..... then sighed in exasperation at the temple boy's puzzled look. "..... Hrrrrmmph. Never mind; jokes are wasted on the witless." And Tora turned his attention back to the speaker in front of the fire, leaning against a block of stone and resting his chin back on his hand.   
  
Across the clearing, two foxes relaxed somewhat. The smaller of the two fixed her sharp gaze first on Ushio, then on the Spear, then on Ushio again; she took in the long black hair, shining eyes and sharp-nailed hands. A small smile flickered then across her vulpine face and she settled back, watching her daughter carefully.  
  
Ushio frowned and looked at Rikone, raising one eyebrow and pushing his hair back from his face; "Jade fox?" Rikone closed her eyes and sighed; "It's my family name; it means 'jade', and some of my ancestors were pretty important. A few were nine-tail kitsunes..... it doesn't mean much these days, really." Ushio settled back on his boulder, trying to imagine Rikone with nine tails (how did one sit down?); he blinked his slit-pupiled eyes once and shrugged.  
  
He sat back a bit, watching the speaker in front of the bonfire; now it was a scaled creature with an almost human face topping a rather serpentine body patterned with blotches and spots of black and red. This one wore a magistrate's cap on its head and sported a long, drooping mustache; it was gesticulating emphatically with several arms as it spoke: "..... and from this you can see, my lords and ladies and others, that the humans are beginning to get out of hand, at least in my district. I propose punitive measures."  
  
There were mutterings from among the crowd; Ushio sat up straight on his boulder. Tora tilted his head a little, looking sidelong at the speaker, who folded its top pair of arms in satisfaction at drawing so much attention. A barking, stacatto voice called out from atop a column of rock: "Punitive-measures-how? Difference-actions-why-now-this-time?"  
  
The speaker folded the rest of its arms. "Punitive measures such as were done in days past! Burn their homes, break their toys; kill enough of the humans and they will leave us be. Poison their foodstuffs, kill their crops, eat their cattle! And eat *them*, for that matter..... There are many here this night who would like that, I think." And it grinned, showing mandibles where teeth should be. A few whistles and low moans of approval followed this; Ushio shivered a little, palms sweating.   
  
It continued: "I speak as one who has seen humans living in places where none would dare to live a mere century ago; they no longer fear us, they no longer believe in us! Even we, who have haunted both darkness and daylight throughout their entire history, now seek out homes among them!" The red-and-black bakemono's cold-eyed gaze swept the crowd, picking out human clothing, sodas and other items with disdain; behind Ushio the Gameboy stopped beeping abruptly.  
  
A spiderlike figure on the far side of the bonfire spoke up in a harsh, grating voice: "We have always made our homes beside the humans, among the humans; what is so different now? There are more of them, but that happens." It shrugged insectile shoulders bristling with spines. "For many centuries we have chosen to avoid conflict with humans for the most part. Why not continue so?" There were whines and mutterings of agreement from around the circle; the speaker before the fire clacked its jaws together in a peculiar gesture, spreading its arms wide. "Because the humans have a weapon on their side again! One which concerns us all!" It snarled, clacked its jaws again and pointed.....  
  
..... directly at Ushio, who froze, hands tight on the Spear's haft. It hummed faintly in his grip.  
  
"I speak of the Kemono No Yari." the speaker rapped out in harsh tones. And every eye was suddenly upon the Spearbearer; every eye (and there were many). Even the giant frowned and pushed his hat back.  
  
Deep silence.  
  
Slowly Tora rose to his feet, gesturing for Ushio to follow. *Ohhhhh, SHIT* he thought, standing up with as much dignity as possible.   
  
Showtime.....  
**********************************************************************************************************************  
End of Chapter 2 


	3. A Truce of Moons (Chapter 3)

A Truce of Moons  
Chapter 3  
By Ysabet  
  
  
So quiet. It was so very quiet.  
  
Ushio stood facing his audience, the Kemono No Yari held point-up before him; he could feel the weight of many unfriendly gazes..... big surprise there. After all, what was he to the bakemonotachi around him? Judge, jury and executioner, that was what. Coming here had NOT been a good idea.....  
  
This really sucked.  
  
Directly behind him he could hear Tora's claws crunching in the gravel underfoot. The monster stood only a few feet back; every now and then tendrils of burnt-orange mane blew forward in the bonfire's heat, wrapping the Spearbearer in a thin, glittering veil. Ushio could hear him breathing, could smell the dark, musky scent of the bakemono behind him.  
  
Tora liked challenges; a confrontation like this was probably second nature to him. But he was a centuries-old monster-beast, not a fifteen-year-old boy..... So many eyes, watching them: green and golden, scarlet glows, thin slits, burning coals on tentacles, tiny gleams in twos and threes----- Ushio could feel the sweat running down his back. So he stood quietly, staring back.  
  
Let the monsters think what they wanted; the Spearbearer wasn't going to show his fear if he could help it. But this *still* really sucked.  
  
Tora spoke then, so close behind him that his breath disturbed the hairs on the back of Ushio's neck. "I have not been among you for some time now, so I will give you my name. I am Nagatobimaru-dono, and I hold the region which contains the human city of Tokyo." This caused a faint stir among the creatures before them, but no-one said anything yet. The ancient bakemono began to walk slowly around the bonfire as he spoke, his claws scattering pebbles; every now and then a tiny spark of lightning would crackle from talon to talon, bright in the shadows.  
  
Ushio stood very still, waiting; his black cloak of hair drifted around him in the bonfire's hot breath. The small of his back itched, and he concentrated on not squirming; that would be..... uncool. He had to keep calm, had to keep still.  
  
"I have been away for some time from my domain; it pleases me that none have tried to take it while I was gone." Tora/Nagatobimaru looked coolly around the clearing as he paced, cold silver eyes expressionless. "... Or so I understand. Will any dispute this with me?" He smiled, and there was a deadly promise in that smile; it widened a little as the silence continued. The monster's tail lashed as he padded forward, circling the fire.  
  
"Well; I am back. To those within my domain, I say this: It matters to me not at all how you live, what you do; live as humans for all I care, or live as bakemono. That is nothing to me." He spat abruptly on the sand and several creatures jumped. "Why should I give a damn? Your lives are your own, as is mine..... Do as you will. I am no magistrate, to count your numbers or collect fealty from any of you."  
  
Now there were murmurs from among the crowd, seemingly of approval; The Spearbearer shifted his weight very slightly, wondering where this was going. Tora/Nagatobimaru was moving towards him now, his path circling the flames as if closing in on prey; the Spearbearer felt him pad softly past, felt him pause.....  
  
"But I have heard a thing this night that is..... incorrect. You---" and the ancient bakemono looked steadily at the previous speaker, still standing to one side of the clearing with its arms folded; "--- you have said that the Spearbearer is something that concerns us all." The scarlet and black creature gave a curt nod of agreement; Tora/Nagatobimaru stared it down, eyes slitted. He stepped forward heavily to stand beside Ushio, who gripped the Spear a little tighter.  
  
"Not so. It is MY concern. The Spearbearer is *mine* to deal with!"  
  
THAT got results; growls and hisses all around the clearing. Several of the creatures in the shadows further back moved a little closer in; Ushio could see them a little better now. *These* were some of the more frightening bakemonotachi, ones with more talons than hands and more mouths than eyes..... They shuffled in, watching, watching. One of the smaller ones, a thing composed almost completely of eyes, rasped out: "Why yours only? It hunts us, we kill it!" It drifted in place, long tendrils twitching where they hung beneath in its shadow. Ushio could feel his muscles tensing, his lips beginning to draw back from his teeth; keeping still was a harder battle than fighting could ever be.....  
  
Beside him Tora/Nagatobimaru shrugged nonchalantly; "Well enough. But-----" and Ushio could feel the force of Tora's baleful gaze as the monster turned to look down on him--- " this one is responsible for my return; he is mine to deal with.... That is also among our few rules, is it not? Bakemonotachi within a territory are dealt with by those who hold the territory--- why the hell else do such as *we* have territories at all?" Tora sat back on his haunches and crossed his arms; now he was looking out over the crowd.  
  
There were stirrings and a few disgruntled murmurs from the edges, as well as grunts of agreement; Ushio could hear small arguments breaking out here and there between some of the entities. He could also see Rikone; her brothers were sitting beside her now, their eyes huge in the firelight.... and, yes, there were her parents, one on either side of their children.  
  
A little to the left of the kitsune family a skeletal Samurai-type spoke up in hollow, distant tones that sounded like they had been dredged up from the bottom of a well. "Bakemonotachi...... Nagatobimaru-dono, Honored Sir, you speak of the Spearbearer as one of us; but he is *human*, is he not?" And it turned empty sockets to stare at Ushio; the temple boy returned its gaze in silence as the mutterings from the crowd grew louder. He'd wondered when this would come up; *Great,* thought the boy glumly. *I'm something's dinner for certain now. This REALLY sucks.* Well, he wouldn't go down easily. He stood up a little straighter, slit-pupiled eyes narrowing.  
  
The arguments were beginning to grow louder and things were getting ugly; to one side, the magistrate in charge of the moon-truce clapped his hands sharply. "Be still! Lord Nagatobimaru is speaking now; those who wish to silence him or speak in his place must challenge him--- Do any choose to do so?" As the hubub quieted a little, he nodded to Tora/Nagatobimaru, who had been simply sitting back, watching with an exasperated scowl on his firelit face. The monster gave a short laugh and spoke again:  
  
"Human? Hehh..... Look at him, you. Does he *look* human?!? And do you truly believe--- any of you!--- that *I* would allow a human with power like *that* to remain alive in MY territory?!?" The bakemono snorted briefly, teeth flashing white. The noise of the crowd died back bit by bit to near-silence; the crackle of the bonfire was clearly audible. After a moment the skeletal samurai spoke once more, its hollow tones echoing against the rocks. "Honored Sir, you have spoken; we have spoken. But the Spearbearer has not spoken; has he anything to say to us?"  
  
Ushio rocked back a little onto his heels, his face paling; *he* had to talk?!? Great..... but he supposed it was better than being torn to bits. Beside him Tora/Nagatobimaru stepped back somewhat, a sardonic look in his silver eyes. He grunted briefly in approval, but his tail lashed back and forth a time or two. "RRrrrrrrhhrrrrrrr...... You have a point. Speak then, Spearbearer; what have you to say in this manner? Are you human or bakemono?" And he looked Ushio full in the face.  
  
Just what could be read in those silver eyes? They were *so* very inhuman sometimes, full of things that 15-year-old boys had no experience with or empathy for; but right now..... What were they telling him now? Fear? Hatred? Concern? What? The huge striped face was impassive, as terrible as ever; but Ushio saw something there that he would almost call *entreaty*. Tora.... wanted something from him.  
  
Ushio thought hard for a moment, sweating, then drew himself up to his full height and tried see himself as the watching bakemonotachi were seeing him: a figure out of their legends, dressed in dark garments and cloaked with black, black hair, with shining eyes and sharp teeth----- and then there was that terrible Spear.....   
  
From the way things sounded, little bakemonotachi went to bed at night and had bad dreams about the Kemono No Yari. Did monster mothers tell their young ones "Do what I say or the Spearbearer will come and get you"?   
  
Ushio drew a deep breath and looked out again over the audience, gripping the Spear with damp palms. For a moment, it seemed that his voice had caught in his throat like a fishbone; but then something loosened, and he began. "I am Aotsuki Ushio-dono, and I'm the bearer of the Kemono No Yari. And, yes, I was born human." Silence, punctuated by a single barely-audible growl from somewhere out in the darkness.  
  
"Whatever I am now--- well; I don't think any human would recognize me as one of theirs. So..... Maybe I am one of you, in a way. Right now, at least; most humans would think so. Nagatobimaru-dono---" and Ushio glanced sideways at Tora, "--- told me earlier that, to you, *I* am a monster. I don't know--- it's hard to say where 'human' ends and 'Spearbearer' begins." He shifted the Spear so that it lay crosswise in front of him, gripped tightly in each hand. The red streamers fluttered as a cool wind passed across the bonfire, sweeping sparks up in a sheet of stars; more than one set of eyes followed their flight.  
  
"Tonight I came with Lord Nagatobimaru willingly, as a guest; he didn't force me to come, and he told me your rules. I've obeyed them just as you have-----"  
  
There was a clacking hiss from across the clearing from the red and black creature that had spoken previously; its coils shifted and slithered, bright scales reflecting the firelight as it reared up, arms crossed. "----You are NOT one of us, human! You are *food* to many of us!!" It hissed again, showing its mandibles. "We-do-NOT-accept-you!! We--------- !!"  
  
It froze; the Spear had shifted of its own accord in Ushio's hands and was pointing directly at it. Mouth still open, the creature swallowed its words and sank back on its coils a little, still glaring.  
  
After a possibly-polite pause, Ushio continued rather mildly. "..... As I said, I have obeyed your rules..... And so has the Kemono No Yari." He shifted the Spear to his right hand so that it stood between himself and Tora/Nagatobimaru, who was watching very calmly. "Don't think that just because I'm the Spearbearer the Spear will always do what I want; it's got its own ideas." As if in answer, the Kemono No Yari rang softly; the warning tones throbbed above the bonfire's crackle like a moan of protest, and Ushio knew that (for once) every being there could hear them.  
  
The tones died away, and silence returned. The skeletal Samurai who had spoken before cleared its throat (Ushio found himself wondering just what with) and sighed like a rattle of dead leaves. "AAhhhhhhh...... Then there are *three* here who should speak; what then would the Kemono No Yari have to say?" And tiny cold lights shown in the darkened pits of its eye-sockets..... Around the circle there was a drawing back, a movement full of fear and dread (from monsters! With the tiny bit of his mind that wasn't concentrating on keeping calm, Ushio marveled at this); a faint wailing rose from something small and wispy cradled in a barely-visible wraith's arms as it fled away in terror.  
  
All eyes were on the Spear, and it responded with its own voice: at first a soft, shivering moan like before, then a deep, rising hum like God's own base guitar---- growing, growing, crackling with energy-----  
  
----- crackling indeed; a corona of lightning began to coruscate around the Spear's blade, filling the air with miniature thunder and the scent of ozone. Creatures along the edge of the clearing were panicking and scrambling back away from the terrible thing by the bonfire; even Tora/Nagatobimaru was drawing away, his mane throwing back its own sparks in answer to the Spear's lightning. His eyes were very wide, great silver mirrors reflecting what he and all the other bakemonotachi saw: the Spearbearer, still holding the Kemono No Yari, wreathed in a brilliant tangle of thin threads of power that grounded themselves all around him in a scatter of blue fire-----  
  
----- and then Ushio ran his hands along the shaft of the Spear, stroking it soothingly, holding it in both hands; he swept one palm across the blade through the curtain of lightning as if calming an angry beast, and the storm and outcry lessened, lowered, calmed, died......   
  
Quiet again, broken by harsh breathing in the darkness, and by the faint crackle of cooling glass where the power had earthed around Ushio; the scents of ozone and scorched earth hung thick in the air.  
  
The Spearbearer held the Spear before him; it was silent now, but there was a definite feeling in the air of barely-suppressed thunder; every creature there could sense it. He drew a deep breath. "As I said..... It's got its own ideas. If I wasn't its bearer--- if it could do what it liked--- you'd all be dead."  
  
Ushio gave his audience a moment to allow that to sink in, and then spoke again very calmly. "Now..... If I am *not* one of you, and if I'm just a human, by your rules you could kill me tonight. Or you could try, anyway....." And he smiled, or maybe just bared his sharp teeth; it was hard to tell, even to himself.  
  
"On the other hand..... If I'm something like one of *you*, at least while I'm the Spearbearer, then I can't kill any of YOU tonight. That's from your own rules, right?" And he stared directly at the scarlet and black snake-man as he spoke, who glowered back a little less defiantly than before.  
  
"One thing you had better understand: I don't belong to Nagatobimaru-dono, and he doesn't belong to me. I'm not his, his *subject*, or anything like that. We live in the same territory--- and if anything comes looking to take over, I'll defend it. Come to think of it, we'd better make something else clear: Humans are *my* territory!! Try to kill them or do anything else to them while I'm around, and you'll have to deal with me." Ushio crossed his arms, glaring and baring his teeth a little. Mutters from the crowd were more subdued than he would have expected, but there were still quite a number of defiant looks from creatures here and there.....  
  
And yet..... He saw approving nods and definite looks of relief; some of the entities seemed *glad* that he had cleared that little matter up.  
  
Ushio sighed; the rush of adrenaline was beginning to fade, and with it the crazy moment of strength that had gotten him through his ordeal (he would decide later that speaking in front of class would never be quite as traumatic as it had been). He thumped the butt of the Spear a bit impatiently on the ground before him, making a few bakemonotachi jump. "Well? Which is it? What am I to you?"   
  
The silence that followed was broken by a deep, harsh chuckle. Tora/Nagatobimaru was laughing softly, his white teeth reflecting the light of the fire. He stretched cat-limber there on the sands, great claws working; then, tossing his mane back from his face, he turned to the original magistrate-in-charge and said calmly:  
  
"Well?"  
  
The many-eyed creature walked slowly out onto the sands, carefully positioning itself at a good distance from both Ushio and Tora--- and from the Spear. With appreciable dignity it spoke. "I speak only for myself, but I must agree--- you have bided by our laws, Spearbearer, and you seem very little like a human to this personage just now." The fire was beginning to burn low, and the red embers reflected in the eyes on the backs of its hands as it spread them wide before it. "Will any others speak in this matter?"  
  
After a pause, the skeletal Samurai climbed to its feet with a rattle of ancient armor. "Honored ones, it seems to me that all here are bakemonotachi, and all must abide by our laws." The hollow tones echoed through the clearing, cold as windchimes in the dark; but the empty sockets that looked out at the Spearbearer weren't really so unkind, just very black.  
  
Silence then for a few moments; then a soft voice spoke from not too far from Ushio. "I have seen, I have listened; and it is my belief that he is as much one of us at least as he is a human." It was Rikone's mother--- Ushio was startled to hear a woman's voice pass from the jaws of a fox; her husband was giving her a startled look, and Rikone and her brothers were frozen in place. The kitsune leaned forward as she spoke, her golden eyes intent on Ushio's face. "And, my Lords and Ladies and others, from what we have just seen--- is it not a good thing to have one who has at least *something* in common with us bearing the Kemono No Yari? You---" and she pointed with one long-fingered paw at Ushio; "--- you seem to have no hatred of us, ne?"  
  
The Spearbearer shrugged; "No, I don't hate you--- and I've no reason to harm *any* of you unless you tresspass on MY territory: human lives. Leave humans alone, and I'll leave you all alone. Hell, that's pretty simple, isn't it?"  
  
She stared him down sternly, and Ushio immediately regretted his rudeness (mothers never forgot that sort of thing, did they?) The kitsune shook her head; "I doubt that *all* here intend to forego human prey; you'll have to deal with that as it happens..... as bakemono always deal with trespasses on their territory....."  
  
Ushio shrugged again. "Fine." The kitsune woman sat back, satisfied; her husband gave her a single scandalized glance and then turned to stare at Rikone. The foxgirl spread her dark-furred hands wide in an 'I-don't-get-it-either' gesture and shook her head.  
  
Another moment's pause, then a deep, rumbling voice spoke from over most of the entities' heads: "Well, Lords and Ladies and all, I suppose I should speak my piece." The language was reasonably understandable (with the occasional odd slang), but the accent made Ushio blink; it sounded like the american actor John Wayne, of all the unbelievable---- Who in the world was THAT? Then he looked up----- Oh. The giant leaned on his pillar of stone and adjusted the set of his baseball cap before he spoke again. "I'm a visitor here from the 'States, and I've been having a pretty good time tonight; this has been real entertaining! But I've got a question for you guys." He poked a large thumb at Tora.  
  
"From what I hear, you two should be mortal enemies; but you're living in the same territory? How the sam-hell are you handling *that*? Why aren't you trying to kill each other?" He cocked an interested eyebrow at them both; his gold earring glinted in the light of the bonfire's dying embers.  
  
Ushio looked at Tora, raising one eyebrow; Tora looked at Ushio, then at the Spear; several options seemed to pass through his mind before he spoke.  
  
"How we deal with it is our own concern. If anyone tries to eat the Spearbearer before *I* get to him, they will deal with me....." The bakemono lifted his head and looked upwards a little distantly, following the flight of sparks towards the heavens as if the question was no great matter.  
  
The Spearbearer snorted then, crossing his arms defiantly. He looked out over the creatures in the darkness, frowning; "And T-- I mean, Nagatobimaru-dono's MY problem----- I released him, and I'll handle him..... It's really nobody's business but ours, right? Right."  
  
The giant grinned down with broad, white teeth; he seemed pleased. Less pleased was the scarlet-and-black figure that reared up, coils twitching and fists clenching. It clacked its jaws angrily and began an invective-laden tirade which sputtered into incoherency when the magistrate in charge turned to stare coldly down at it (and with that many eyes, he had staring down pat). It finally wound down like a broken toy, muttering angrily as it pushed off into the crowd.  
  
Resting the Spear on his shoulder, Ushio shook his head with a gesture of finality and looked at Tora; the ancient bakemono shrugged once and began pacing back towards his seat on the sands; Rikone's brothers hurriedly made room for him there. The Spearbearer nodded once to himself, then followed. With dignity he took his place back on his boulder..... and then hugged his arms to keep himself from trembling. Adrenaline was a thing of the past now and reaction was setting in.  
  
But he was alive.....  
  
Ushio sat back silently, savoring that fact as another bakemono took its place before the dying fire and began to speak.  
******************************************  
  
It was near moonset now, and dawn wasn't too far away. The crowd had diminished; quite a number of monsters had come to speak before the bonfire before wandering off afterwards. The firewood had been replenished once but the flames were flickering back down into a bed of embers once again, and the sweet smell of pine woodsmoke hung in the pre-dawn air. On his boulder, Ushio stretched and considered the kinks in his back and legs; being the Spearbearer might give you a tough hide and tougher muscles, but you still could get a stiff neck if you sat still too long. And he thought his butt had gone to sleep, too.  
  
Rikone and her family had been rather quiet after all the fuss had been over; the foxgirl had silently passed him another soda eventually, but she seemed quite subdued. Her two brothers had stared at Ushio, their eyes large, their ears back (but their mother.... she had just smiled a little at him, the very tip of her tail twitching slightly).  
  
Tora lay like a great orange statue on the sands, eyes half-slitted and distant; every now and then he had made a comment to one of the speakers (who had seemed rather nervous around him; imagine that), but otherwise he had been silent. At last, when the moon had lost half its width below the treetops, the bonfire suddenly went out--- totally. Ushio started a bit, but around him the remaining creatures seemed to take this as a matter of course and a certain sign that the night was over. Beside him Tora yawned; the ancient bakemono stretched a long, long stretch and stood silently. Still rubbing at the kinks in the small of his back, Ushio followed suit; God, what a long night it had been.....  
  
Shouldering the Spear, he turned to the kitsune family; the two boys were gathering up their belongings (and the litter of soda-cans), supervised by their watchful parents; Ushio grinned a little in sympathy as one of the foxboys (Yukio, he thought; they looked a lot alike) rolled his eyes at a barked parental command. The kitsune boy caught this and smiled back hesitantly, but his eyes still strayed to the weapon on the Spearbearer's shoulder. Oh well..... Ushio sighed a little sadly and gave the family his best bow before turning away. Then a soft voice said: ".... Ushio-dono....." and he looked back.  
  
Rikone was standing there, her russet-and-white fur catching the grey light of false dawn; in the faint glow she looked less real, more wraith-like than she had in the darkness of full night. But she was smiling shyly, and as he watched her figure seemed to shimmer, to shift and reform until a very young woman with slanted golden eyes and deep red hair stood before Ushio, still smiling. "..... Take care, Spearbearer..... and I'll see you next year." She bowed formally, her features blurring and melting back into the foxface that was her true countenance. Then she turned to walk silently away with her family, never once looking back.  
  
Ushio just stood there, feeling his heart thumping a little harder. What----?!? Huh. That had been.... nice. Maybe he *would* see her at the next year's moon-truce..... if he was still alive. With the eternal optimism of any 15-year-old, he grinned to himself as he began thinking about it.....  
  
His thoughts were broken by a rough chuckle and the familiar prickle of sharp claws on one shoulder; Tora was standing directly behind him, laughing at his discomfort. "Heh..... So you've made a conquest, have you, Lord Brat? Better watch it....." said the bakemono, grinning widely. Ushio snorted. "Butt out, jerk. I don't know what the hell you're talking about." He could feel his ears beginning to burn. Tora just laughed again, sounding remarkably pleased with himself.  
  
Side by side they each began to walk towards the woods beyond the clearing; around them the crowd was more than half dispersed, creatures leaving on foot or in flight or simply fading like morning mist. The Spearbearer lifted his head to see the same scarlet-and-blue bat things that he had seen when arriving wing past; well damn, he had never gotten around to asking about those, had he?   
  
Ushio rubbed a hand across his face; his eyes felt dry and gritty, and the effort of keeping them open was almost too much to bother with. He dragged his feet a little as they walked, nearly bumping into a departing something-or-other with tattered, many-layered robes (they were probably robes.... or maybe just skin; who knew?). The whatever-it-was muttered something that might have been an apology and shuffled past, intent on its own departure.   
  
The sky was beginning to lighten; already the charcoal of predawn was beginning to shade into the golden white of sunrise. Ushio shouldered the Spear a little more securely as they stepped into the shadows of the trees, following the streambed back the way they had come. *Huh* he thought tiredly; *That seems more like a year ago, not just a single night. Time flies when you're having fun, I guess.* Behind them the last stragglers seemed to be leaving--- he wondered how Rikone and her family would travel back to their home (*and dammit, that was one *more* thing I never got around to asking: Where she lived! Shit!*)--- on two feet, or four? Or otherwise? Ushio concentrated on his own movements, sweeping the lengths of his hair around so he could bundle it in his arms--- it had a tendancy to catch on branches or get walked on if he didn't watch out.  
  
*God, what a night* he thought, wobbling as he stepped from one boulder to another. Ushio glanced up at Tora; the bakemono was a little ahead of him, padding softly along the streambed with hardly any sound. The Spearbearer frowned to himself thoughtfully; there had been this little matter in the back of his mind all night that they needed to discuss.......  
  
"Hey, Tora. Got something I've been wanting to ask you about." The monster did not turn around. "What is is?" he answered back rather absently.  
  
Ushio brought the Spear around to hold in both hands, using it to keep his balance on a particularly tricky bit of boulder-hopping. "Well..... Why'd we do this? I mean, I understand about seeing what was what, and who holds what territory and all that---- but......" He shoved his hair back irritably, concentrating on his footing. "..... You could've probably found out about that sort of thing some other way, couldn't you?" The bakemono made no answer, but looked sideways back at Ushio; his silver eyes gleamed with something like amusement in the shadows.  
  
".....And--- why bring me? You had to know there'd be some sort of fight, what with me being the Spearbearer. What the hell was with that, anyway? Trying to get me killed?" The boy scowled at the monster, who stopped in his tracks and turned, pointing a sharp-taloned finger straight at Ushio's face.  
  
He growled out: "I TOLD them, boy, and I told YOU: *No-one kills you before me!!*" Tora glared down into the Spearbearer's angry eyes----- then flinched back and snarled as the Spearbearer swatted the flat of his weapon against the side of his huge head, THWACK!!!  
  
For a moment they glared each other there in the streambed, the bakemono and the temple boy; then, as if the confrontation had never happened, the two turned at one accord to continue side-by-side on their way. Looking straight ahead, Tora continued: "..... Hhhraahhhhrrrr..... there *was* another reason---" and he shrugged. "There are many among the bakemonotachi who know of me, and of that damned Spear----- and of the Spearbearer. Trying to hold a territory while *allowing you both to exist in it unchallenged*...... Not possible. No bakemono would do that. So......." he trailed off, sounding a little embarrassed.  
  
Ushio picked it up, feeling angrier than ever. ".....so you brought me here to get the bakemonotachi to see me as one of them? So you wouldn't look like an asshole in front of them?!? So you wouldn't *lose face*?!?" He aimed another blow at the monster, a harder one this time. "GodDAMN it, Tora!!"  
  
The bakemono ducked, shoving him away. "Idiot!! What else could I do?...... Well, besides eat you, that is? You had to be seen as one of us, or others would come to kill us both!!! You, because you are the Spearbearer; and me, because they would see me as weak enough to let you live!!!" He growled in the back of his throat as he continued walking; the growl had words in it that were probably best unheard.  
  
Ushio growled back a little, but his anger was dying; he supposed Tora had a point. As he trudged along the streambed, he thought about the things that had *not* been said, not by either of them: That Tora could've probably killed him..... That Tora hadn't killed him..... That, maybe, it was better not to talk about this out loud. There were some things better left unsaid, some confrontations that should never happen.  
  
Otherwise..... Well. Best to let it go at that.  
  
They walked on, and the Spearbearer finally allowed himself a moment to shift back to his human self (he guessed they were far enough away for it to be safe). This was the longest that he had stayed in his other form; it felt wierd being just..... Ushio. As the lengths of black hair slid towards the ground and faded into ash, he shivered a bit--- All in all, everything that he had said before the bonfire had been the truth: he wasn't really *completely* human, not while he was like that, sharp-toothed and slit-eyed..... The temple boy ran a single strand of disintegrating black hair through his fingers as it crackled into dust (convenient, that; better than leaving heaps of hair all over the place).  
  
Being human..... it wasn't really so different, he supposed. Rikone and her family, for instance; despite all their fur and tails and shapechanging, were they really that unlike the human beings he had known all his life? Different upbringings and ancestry, sure, but beyond that..... Rikone had been pretty cute, too--- human-faced *and* fox-faced. For a moment Ushio considered that thought, grinning a little; then a vision of Asako crept before his mind's eye and he flinched, imagining her reaction to his, well, his 'flirting' the previous night. Knowing Asako, she would probably beat the snot out of him and then become the best of friends with the kitsune, and then the two of them would walk off arm-in-arm discussing how horrible boys were..... Ouch.  
  
They had reached the spot where they had landed the night before, and Ushio slid up onto Tora's back without a word (he never said anything--- Tora would probably dump him from a fatally-high altitude if he did). As they lifted slowly above the treetops, the temple boy looked over his shoulder; there was the clearing, there was the spire the giant had leaned against (*... and how the HELL did *that* guy manage to arrive in Japan unnoticed?*), there was the ring of the bonfire, black against the sand..... Huh. What a night.  
  
The wind was rising with the sun; as Ushio settled himself on the bakemono's back it sent a storm of Tora's mane up to flutter wildly around him, wrapping him once more in a cloak of fine, amber hair. He brushed it from his face and eased himself down against the warm fur a little more comfortably, trying to keep from digging his heels in (Tora usually ignored him while they flew, but no use taking chances after all). As he settled back, he heard: ".....And what did you think of the bakemonotachi, ehh?"  
  
The Spearbearer hesitated a moment, thinking. Then, resting his chin on the haft of the Spear lying crosswise before him, he said softly: "Mostly, I think they were pretty much..... people. Not very *nice* people, some of them--- and I think there were quite a few that're just too, well, *alien* to be really something I'd understand--- but lots of them were pretty much like the people I know back home. I mean, that kitsune family--- I go to school with guys just like Yukio and Hayaiko, and Rikone reminded me of Asako a bit....." Beneath him the monster chuckled; he turned his head a little to one side so he could look back at Ushio from one silver eye. "The sharp-voiced girl would make a good bakemono" he said rather mildly; the boy pointedly ignored this and continued.  
  
"I think..... good or bad or whatever, they weren't *that* different. Most of them, anyway. They all just wanted to live..... Though I did wonder about a few of them, that skeleton-samurai, for instance. What was up with him?" Ushio looked down at Tora's back; it shrugged at him.  
  
"Ahhhhhrrr. That one..... A hungry ghost, one who died in battle and could not leave off his warring----- I remember him from about six or seven hundred years ago....." Ushio shivered; he had been raised on stories of the terrible hungry ghosts that lurked outside in the darkness--- and now he had seen one. Of course, he had also seen a giant, and fox-spirits, and a kuma, and any amount of unnameable things with too many mouths..... Not to mention a stupid orange ass of a bakemono who was too full of himself.  
  
The bakemono in question stretched his arms wide, rising up higher above the green sea of treetops; the sun was beginning to warm the air, and he wanted to reach the cooler heights before the day got too hot. He glanced back idly at the Spearbearer, who lay looking thoughtfully off into the distance. "Want to go again next year, Lord Brat?"  
  
"Sure. But next time I'm bringing something to eat with me." The Spearbearer's stomach growled painfully; a night without food was *not* on his list of favorite things..... He almost regretted not trying the fried mice that Rikone and her brothers had offered him. Almost----- but not quite.  
  
Beneath him the bakemono laughed; he increased his speed, their combined shadow flicking across the landscape below like a water droplet sliding across glass. Ushio gripped the tawny fur a little tighter, ducking his head and allowing the wind to sheet across him; he closed his eyes, enjoying the wild rush of flight.  
  
Humans and bakemonotachi..... It was like he had said earlier: they all just wanted to live. He could understand their fear of the Kemono No Yari--- it was *their* nightmare, as he himself was *their* monster. Who could tell? Perhaps they could manage to ignore their fears enough to allow them *all* to live..... And if not--- he would just have to deal with that when it happened. No compromises there.  
  
If he and Tora could do it, well, maybe the others could too.  
  
The Spearbearer settled himself down on Tora's back, watching the new day unfold before his eyes.  
***********************************************************************************************************************************************  
  
YSABET'S NOTES: This one was a bit harder to write than the others--- no big fight scenes, LOTS of talking, lots of wierd critters to think up (though that was fun)...... I just got to wondering: How would you deal with your neighbors if you were a bakemono or an akuma or oni or whatever? What kind of structure would've evolved down the ages? When you get reading the manga, you find out that they have territories set up and suchlike. Interesting..... So I had fun with the idea. Hope you liked it--- please review! But no sending me fried mice; they give me heartburn. Chocolate would be nice, though..... : P  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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